With less than 3 months to go until England's first group game against the U.S.A on June 12th in the World Cup and one particular pair of positions are causing more problems than anyone envisaged. At full strength, the English full-backs picked themselves with Ashley Cole easily making a case for being the best left […]

Proponents of the notion that the Premier League is the best in the world – an oft repeated mantra – might want to shut up for once and take a look at the Champions League this year. For the past few years, English clubs have dominated the latter stages, now they’re down to two already. […]

Chelsea has been eliminated from UEFA Champions League, having lost 1-0 to José Mourinho and Internazionale at Stamford Bridge, leaving the tournament on Tuesday after a 3-1 aggregate defeat. On this edition of the EPL Talk podcast, Kartik Krishnaiyer and myself review the Special One's return to the Bridge and ask how the surviving English […]

It looks like another scudetto wouldn't be enough for Inter Milan's management. ESPN Soccernet is reporting that Inter owner Massimo Moratti wants former Manchester United and French national team star Laurent Blanc as his manager next year if the squad fails to advance to at least the finals of the Champions League.  The Nerazzurri beat […]

Jose. What a man. He patrols the touchline, immaculately dressed part drama queen, part coach. Watching Inter Milan on TV is essential viewing, less for the football than for the Jose show. Love or loath him, he is compulsive viewing. It’s a no-holds barred exercise in facial expressions and physical theater. He goes through a […]

This weekend's action has a wealth of subplots, controversy, and exciting soccer play.  But the main story line out of this weekend is the standings.  Right now, the top four spots in the Serie A standings are occupied by the clubs most thought would occupy them in some order: Inter Milan, AS Roma, AC Milan, […]

Fans of AC Milan have suffered through a bad four weeks, beginning by losing to short-handed rival Inter and most recently suffering a devastating defeat in their Champions League match versus Manchester United.  This comes the same week that Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi criticized Leonardo's managerial style and encouraged him to allow his team to […]

We have seen the powerful Inter of Mourinho, we saw it power through AC Milan with only nine men, we saw a war machine unleashed against Cagliari, demolishing them 3-0. But we have not seen this super style of play in the Champions League, Mourinho claims that this year's Inter Milan team is finally his, […]

Franco Baresi is one of the first names to come to anybody’s mind when you mention the Libero (or sweeper) position, simply because he was the on-field general and symbol of Arrigo Sacchi’s great Milan side in the late 1980s; a side that arguably boasted one of the greatest defences of all time. Bearing in […]

The best way to sum up the action this past weekend is more of the same.  The top 4 remain the top 4 (with one switch) and those looking in danger of relegation still look in danger of relegation.  However, a few major lessons were learned this week on (and off) the pitch. Racism is […]

Internazionale boss Jose Mourinho is already plotting his exit from Giuseppe Meazza, after less than two years in the Nerazzurri hotseat.  The Portuguese boss is just halfway through his contract with Inter but he is already talking up his plans to return to the Premier League.  When boss at Premier League club Chelsea Mourinho won […]

After a workmanlike 1-0 victory against Almería and a mediocre showing in their 0-0 draw at the Mestalla against Valencia CF on Saturday, FC Barcelona looked to reverse their form in the Champions League against a supposed weaker team in FK Rubin Kazan.  To their credit, Barça did not make any excuses about their performance […]

Patrick Barclay is one of Britain's best known and respected football journalists. With a career of over 30 years working for a variety of publications and numerous appearances on television talking about the game, Patrick is always worthy of attention.Currently writing for the Times, Patrick has a wide knowledge of the beautiful game and many […]

Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho has always had a bit of a reputation as an outspoken type of fellow but that looked like it had all changed when he imposed a 'media blackout' last weekend. The former Porto and Chelsea boss decided to snub the press after he was sent to the stands during Inter's […]

It’s crunch time in Serie A, as clubs must play three games in the span of 8 days this week, and even more over the next eleven days if they are playing in international competitions. It’s a Bad Month to Be a Milan Fan: Not only is rival Inter atop the Serie A standings, Milan […]